Need a container recommendation

[iheartea]

A friend of mine had given me a blended white tea with tiny bits of passion fruit and it was delicious. Unfortunately, some weevils have gotten into the container, which is a washi paper covered tin. I thought it was more than secure. What is the best container to store tea that will completely prevent bugs from getting in?

[Drax]

Ummmmmmm, I fully realize that I may be completely wrong here, so please bear with me.

Is there any reason you have to believe that the weevils "got into" the container?

My experience with weevils is that they usually come OUT of stuff (like grains, flour) -- yes, meaning that the weevil eggs are in your food.

If that is the case, then I would recommend sealing the tea in a ziplock (or something air-tight) and freezing it for a week. Let it come up to room temperature before opening and storing in a different container.

Best of luck....!

[debunix]

In my experience, the critters come into the house from time to time in stuff I've bought, as eggs, hatch, and then whether they escape and infest other stuff in my pantry depends on the quality of my storage containers. Since a bad outbreak many years ago, I use canning jars with metal lids for nearly everything, and especially for anything bought from a bulk bin. Stuff still comes in contaminated from time to time, but I haven't had transmission from on item to another for years.

A tin canister with a tight fitting lid should be great for keeping critters in (that came with the contents) and out (from infested stuff nearby).

[iheartea]

drax - The reason I believed the weevils got into the container is because it had a cork top to a glass canister. The cork seemed to have spaces within that the weevils could get into. Also, I live in a warm, humid location which breeds lots of bugs.

debunix - Yes, I, too have begun building up my glass container collection because of my warm, humid location that encourages bugs. I will be storing my tea in glass with a screw on lid, too. I bought more today. Soon, I will be covered completely. It was a shame because that tea I lost was absolutely delicious.

I had no idea that teas were susceptible to bugs. I've experienced infestations in flour and grains, but tea is a new one for me. I just have to be more diligent.

[Chip]

Not a tea, but an herbal ... chamomile is notorious for certain insects that are often present when you buy it. People buy it, put it in a secure canister, and suddenly they have buggy tea.

[Tead Off]

drax - The reason I believed the weevils got into the container is because it had a cork top to a glass canister. The cork seemed to have spaces within that the weevils could get into. Also, I live in a warm, humid location which breeds lots of bugs.

debunix - Yes, I, too have begun building up my glass container collection because of my warm, humid location that encourages bugs. I will be storing my tea in glass with a screw on lid, too. I bought more today. Soon, I will be covered completely. It was a shame because that tea I lost was absolutely delicious.

I had no idea that teas were susceptible to bugs. I've experienced infestations in flour and grains, but tea is a new one for me. I just have to be more diligent.

I live in a very humid world but I've never experienced weevils in my tea jars. I have experienced weevils in our rice, though. We had a large bag of rice in a soft plastic sack that it came in. It was stored in the same area we keep our teas in. We noticed weevils inside the rice bag. No weevils inside the teas. Since then, we keep our bags of rice refrigerated. This seems to prevent or slow down the hatching of any dormant eggs. We've never had another problem. The teas have never developed weevils and are in containers that are less airtight than the rice bags. So, I have to conclude that your weevils are probably inside of your tea already, as Drax said. Just an unlucky batch of tea, I think.

[iheartea]

Thanks everyone! What a bummer to crave a tea, heat the water, then see a bug crawling. Need to watch what kind of tea I buy from now on.